


For Better or Worse: A Damerey Drabble Collection

by ILoveYouRoza



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: 5 +1, Air Force, College, College AU, Dancing, Death, Domestic, Established Relationship, F/M, Family, Fluff, Modern AU, Pilot Poe, Royalty, Star Wars AU, The Crown, University, married, meeting in college, pilot, royal, royal family, the crown au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-03-25 16:39:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13838802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ILoveYouRoza/pseuds/ILoveYouRoza
Summary: A home for some of my longer stand alone pieces that center around Poe Dameron/Rey in various circumstances (usually AU)Chapter 1: The Crown AUChapter 2: 5 +1 Dancing AUChapter 3: Where It Takes Us No One KnowsChapter 4: Bump in the...Day???“Remember, Rey, the people look to the monarchy for something bigger than themselves an inspiration, a higher ideal. Something that will always be there, this is bigger than just you or me, this is the crown.”A Damerey Drabble Collection





	1. The Crown

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! In the past few weeks I've had nothing but Star Wars swimming through my head (more specifically Damerey, Oscar Isaac, and Daisy Ridley) so I decided to write a drabble series of all the things I'd like to see the pair in.

The bells tolled outside, the loud clanging a never-ending sound. They’d been ringing for the last hour, ever since the death of Han Solo. A shaky breath left Rey’s mouth as silent tears fell down her cheeks. Her father was _dead,_ ripped from the earth by the cold unfeeling hands of death. Her brain was numb, her thoughts stilled. The image of her father lying motionless on his bed playing on a loop in her head. She wrapped her arms around her body, tucking her cold fingers into the folds of her sweater. Her fingers twitched, itching to reach out and hold something, _someone_. But the person she wanted to hold wasn’t here, he was God knows where doing his job. He’d taken on a more proactive role in the last few months in response to Han’s declining heath, trying to be as useful as possible.

“Rey? Rey, darling I know this is difficult, but actions need to be taken,” Amilyn Holdo said, reaching out and firmly squeezing Rey’s shoulder. “Plans need to be put into motion, will you be alright on your own?”

“Yes, do whatever needs to be done,” Rey whispered, glancing quickly at the older woman before turning around to the empty room. “Would you let me know if anyone hears from Poe?”

Without waiting for a response Rey walked into her bedroom, closing the doors behind her. She swiped at her face, wiping away the semi-dry tears with her edge of her sweater. The soft cashmere was wet in places, the once pristine cloth now being used as a rag. A headache began to form behind her eyelids, the dull throbbing enough to pull her out of her trancelike state. A shiver wracked through her body, the cold of the winter season seeping into her bones and leaving her with an uneasy feeling. She climbed onto her shared bed, pulling the heavy covers over her body as she rested her head on the down pillow. Breathing in deeply, she could smell Poe’s unique scent on the piece of linen. The musky sent enveloping her as she continued to breath into his pillow. The familiar scent was enough to lull her into a relaxed state. She stayed that way for what felt like an eternity before her eyelids started to droop and she fell into a fitful sleep.

 

* * *

 

Rey awoke to the light pressure of someone running their hand over her back. The limb ran up and down the length of her spine, moving from shoulder to shoulder and to the side of her neck. The bed dipped further as the person shifted into what Rey assumed was a more comfortable position. Eyelids still closed Rey whispered, “I’ve missed you.”

The hands on her shoulder stilled briefly before resuming their movements. “I’ve missed you too.” Poe responded, his deep voice soft and even.

“I didn’t think you’d be back so soon,” Rey mumbled, turning her face in the direction of Poe’s. She slowly opened her eyes, taking care to adjust herself to the bright lights streaming through the window

“I got on a plane as soon as I heard, nothing was going to keep me away.” Poe said, kicking his shoes off and standing quickly so he could pull the comforter back from the bed. He slipped into the bed beside Rey, nudging her gently with his elbow so she’d move over to give him room. After settling beside her he pulled the comforter back over the pair, tucking it around their joined bodies. They laid in silence for a moment, their synced breathing the only noise in the room. Poe wrapped his arms around her, pulling her as close to him as humanly possible. He rested his chin on the top of her head, her clean scent something he’d missed in the past month they’d been apart. He’d been traveling around the world, acting as a stand in for Rey as she stayed by her father’s side during his sickness. The time apart had been a necessary evil, one that he was glad was over-despite the awful circumstances that brought their prolonged separation to an end.

“Did you see him? How are things going on out there?” Rey asked, her fingers gripping onto the front of Poe’s button up. Her head was tucked against his neck, a majority of her body lying on his torso. She could feel his sharp intake of breath as he thought of what to say in response.

“They’re progressing as to be expected.” Poe said, pressing a soft kiss to the top of Rey’s head. “ _Yes_ , I saw him. Amilyn has things under control. She said your mother was surprisingly calm about the situation.”

Rey nodded into his neck, pecking his adams apple before breathing in deeply. Poe’s unique scent washed over her, easing her muscles in a way that only his presence could. “I can’t believe he’s really gone. I thought for sure that’d he’d make it to Christmas.”

“So did I, but cancer doesn’t play by anyone’s rules. Life is a guessing game and we don’t know all the cards.”

 

* * *

 

When Rey woke up for the third time that day, the room was once again dark and the bed was empty, the spot Poe had been inhabiting was warm to the touch, telling Rey that he hadn’t been gone long. She rolled over into the spot, reaching an arm out from under the bundle of sheets and blankets to grab her watch from the nightstand. The heavy metal was cool to the touch, the silver face of the timepiece reading 7 o’clock. Breathing out a heavy sigh, Rey pushed the comforter from her body before swinging her feet over the side of the bed. She stretched her arms above her head and glanced down at the floor where Poe had placed her slippers-knowing that she hated how the cold floor felt against her feet.

Not caring to look at herself in the mirror, Rey shuffled out of the large room and headed towards the main parlor where she figured everyone would be. As she passed through the halls, the servants nodded at her bowing politely as she moved through the large house. She nodded in return, moving through the rooms quickly. As expected, Rey found a majority of her family already congregated in the main parlor, quiet discussions happening between members of the group. The talking stopped as Rey entered, the inhabitants turning to look at Rey.

“Connix? Could you have some tea brought in?” Rey asked, turning to softly look at the woman in question. Connix simply nodded in response before leaving the room, shutting the heavy doors behind her.

“We’re glad to see you awake, Rey,” her mother said, patting the empty space beside her on the couch. Without a word Rey moved to her mother’s side, squeezing her mother’s extended hand in her own briefly before clasping her hands together on her lap. “We were just discussing the plans that Amilyn put together. If you’re feeling up to it or Poe could just tell you later?”

“That’ll be fine,” Rey said, looking at Poe who sat beside Padme on the other couch. His lips pulled up into a small smile, though Rey could tell from his eyes that the act was a struggle.

A servant entered the room then, a large silver tray carried between his hands. A steaming tea pot sat in the middle surrounded by cups and boats of milk and sugar. He placed the trey down in front of Rey, pouring her a cup and adding her usual amount of sugar and milk before handing the cup and saucer to Rey. She nodded in thanks, taking a sip of the scalding liquid. The heat from the cup warmed her hands as the liquid worked to warm her insides.

“Where’s Ben?” Rey asked the room after a few moments of slowly sipping on her tea. Leia fixed Padme a cup, handing it to her mother before pouring herself one.

“He was here earlier in the day. He left a few hours before you woke up, said something about needing some time alone to think.” Padme answered her granddaughter, her frail voice strong despite the day they’d had.

Rey nodded in response, looking up at Poe who was drinking from his cup of coffee. He’d never gotten used to the taste of tea-though he was too polite to deny it when offered-the Guatemalan in him craving coffee at all hours of the day. His dark brown hair curled around his ears, the strands longer than normal from traveling and what Rey assumed was a more off the grid tour. He’d need to get it cut soon, she thought as she took another sip of her tea before placing it down on the table between the two couches. The fire was blazing beside her, the warm embers dancing in the hearth, casting an orange tone over the room.

The foursome sat in relative silence for a few hours, only speaking every once in awhile to remark on something trivial. A servant came in with a new pot of tea and cup of coffee for Poe at some point, the cooling of their respective beverages the only account of passing time. Lost in her thoughts, Rey was startled out of her trance by Poe’s hand on her shoulder.

“Darling, let’s get to bed. We’ve had a long day,” he said, taking Rey’s cup from her hands and placing it on the trey before reaching back to extend his free hand to her. Hoisting herself up, Rey noticed that her mother and grandmother were no longer in the room.

Noticing where here attention had gone Poe answered her silent question, “they headed to bed about an hour ago, muttering something about old bones.”

“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” She asked, looping her arm through Poe’s extended one as the pair began the trek through the dark house. Few lights were on as a result of the late hour though footmen stood at each door, prepared for any sort of movement on Poe and Rey’s behalf.

“You needed time to yourself. You may not have the worries of Ben but being the second born doesn’t leave you without issues of your own to overcome in the wake of your father’s death.” Poe responded after a moment, his words slow and concise.

They reached their room without further discussion, Poe bidding the footman outside their room goodnight before closing the door behind him. Rey shuffled over to her vanity, sitting down on the plush ottoman and looking at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were red rimmed from constant crying, her face lined with tear tracks. She looked paler than normal, the once vibrant color of her cheeks drained from the stress and exhaustion of the past day.

Rey could hear Poe shifting around the room behind her as he pulled out sleeping clothes for himself. The rustling of clothes being taken off, put on, and thrown into the laundry shoot lulling Rey. She could feel the dregs of exhaustion pulling at her, pleading with her to climb into bed and sleep for the next twelve hours.

Before she could get up and climb into bed, Poe came over to her side and set a pair of sleep clothes on the table. “Come on, let’s get you changed and then we can hit the sack,” he said. Slowly but with a familiarity that had evolved from years together, Poe changed Rey out of her stiff clothing and into the cotton pajama set he had picked out. Once changed, the duo pulled themselves to bed, wrapping their arms around one another before letting sleep take over.

 

* * *

 

Twelve days later, Poe woke up to Rey’s hair tickling his nose. The long strands were spilling out of the ribbon Rey had wrapped them in the night before. He squished his nose up, trying to move the strand away from his face. After unsuccessfully trying, he blew the strand away only for it to come back and rest on his nose once more. He was about to unwrap his arms from around Rey and move the strand when it moved on it’s own as Rey shifted her head.

“Stop it,” she mumbled, moving herself off of Poe slightly. Her face was tucked into the crook of Poe’s arm and torso, her cool hands slipping beneath his shirt and resting gently on his stomach and side.

Poe winced at the touch of her cold hands; they’d been together for almost five years and he’d never gotten used to the way she was always freezing in the morning. Poe could feel her bare feet tucked up beneath his calves, her cold toes pressing against his unnaturally warm skin. “Sorry, your hair was tickling my nose,” he answered simply, pulling an arm out from beneath Rey so he could rub his eyes, a yawn filling the silence as Poe’s body woke up.

Rey signed in response, shifting her body upward on the bed so she could rest her chin on Poe shoulder more comfortably. Her fingers fumbled around under the pile of blankets before finding Poe’s; his large hands engulfing hers as his digits rubbed against hers to warm the skin. She squeezed his hand as she leaned up to press a kiss to his jawline, the beard there scratching her face.

“Good morning,” Rey whispered, nudging at Poe’s face with her own. Taking the hint, he turned his head towards hers and leaned down to press a good morning kiss to her lips.

“Good morning,” he mumbled against her lips, smiling into the kiss before pulling away. He kissed the small patch of freckles at her temple, his mouth lingering on her face. “I know today is going to be hard…but you’re the strongest woman I know. And I’ll be by your side the entire time, just incase the weight gets to be too much.”

“I love you, Poe.” Rey answered, pulling herself up so she could look into his eyes. His warm brown orbs were shining up at her, his emotions clear as day.

“I love you too,” he responded, pushing himself up onto his elbow so he could kiss her properly.

A sharp knock at the door disrupted the moment, the pair pulling away from one another as Rey’s dresser came into the room, a servant behind her carrying a trey of breakfast items. Rey glanced back at Poe, sharing a look with him before pulling herself off the bed.

“Your Majesty. Your Grace. Good morning. We’ve brought you the paper this morning.” The dresser-Marjorie-said, indicating towards where the servant had put the silver tray.

“Thank you, Marjorie.” Rey said, her once shaky voice firm. She walked towards the tray, picking up the folded newspaper and reading the headline: **After Twelve Days, His Royal Highness Will Be Laid To Rest.**

Rey ignored the body of the article, her gaze fixed on the image of her father on the front of the paper. They’d used a photo that Rey herself had always admired; somehow, he’d been able to convey his power and his compassion in a singular expression. She brushed her thumb against the image before setting the paper down. She glanced back up at Marjorie, nodding her head at the dresser who then proceeded to move into Rey’s closet in search of the proper apparel. Rey poured herself a cup a tea, adding sugar and milk to her liking before taking a sip. Humming in approval she set the cup down before pouring a cup of coffee for Poe-who’d move to the ottoman at the end of the bed. When she handed him the mug he smiled up at her in thanks, resting his free hand on Rey’s hip. Rey herself leaned against Poe’s side, her fingers lightly brushing through the hairs at the back of Poe’s head. They stayed like that for a few moments, enjoying their respective beverages and each other’s presence.

“Come on, we need to start getting ready if we’re ever going to be done in time,” Poe said, patting Rey on the hip before standing up. He stretched his arms over his head, his shirt rising up and exposing his defined abdomen.

“You’re telling me. You’ve got to shave that thing off of your face,” Rey quipped, indicating with her cup to her husbands’ beard; it’d only gotten fuller in the days he’d been home.

Poe scoffed in response, turning to say something about the matter before he was interrupted by Marjorie clearing her throat. Rey turned towards the woman who stood at the door of the closet, various items in her hands. “Your Highness, which would you prefer for today? The Gianvito Rossi or the Prada?”

Poe planted one last kiss to Rey’s lips before heading into the adjoining bathroom to prepare for the day.

“The Rossi,” Rey responded, setting her cup of tea down with a gentle tap.

 

* * *

 

The funeral passed in a blur; the only things that Rey could remember were Poe’s reassuring hand, her mother crying, and Ben’s stoic expression. Rey had barely seen her brother over the past week and a half; every time she called after him she’d been told he didn’t want to be disturbed, something about needing time to reflect and process the situation. She knew that her brother was dealing with a whole other ball of wax, but she missed his presence; his imposing stature, warm laughter, and easy conversation. They hadn’t been able to sit down and have a meaningful conversation in what felt like an eternity. Like Poe, Ben had been off conducting important business on and off for the past few months; he’d been flying all over the world meeting with dignitaries and having lunches with important people.

He stood a few feet away from her now, a glass of whiskey in his hand as he leaned against the fireplace. The mahogany mantlepiece was lined with photos of the family from various stages of life: Han and Leia dancing at the coronation, Ben at various ages with their family dog, Poe and Rey’s wedding photo, and Rey’s personal favorite, a candid family portrait they’d taken before her father had gotten sick. They’d been in the throne room, dressed to the nines in evening gowns and formal tuxedos. No one was looking at the camera, instead, laughing and smiling at one another. Padme was sitting at the center of the photo, looking up at her son-in-law and daughter as they focused on their children. Ben was half bent over, his dark hair covering parts of his face as Rey leaned into his side, a smile that Poe once said could be seen from space covering her face. Poe stood beside her, the small family dog-BB-8 cradled in his arms as he smiled fondly at the pair.

Rey smiled at the memory, taking the necessary steps to close the distance between her and Ben. She touched his arm gently when she stopped by his side, drawing his attention away from the photograph. He smiled down at her, his head tipping down so that he could press a kiss to her forehead.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been that present as of late,” Ben said quietly, glancing around at the occupants of the room before turning back to look Rey in the eye.

She simply nodded at him, trying to give him the courage to say whatever he needed to say.

“I know that this has been tough on you; you and dad had a bond that I couldn’t even begin to understand. I just needed some time to process the situation and what this mean. The impact that that day has on the future, on _my_ future…and _yours_.” Ben took a shaky breath, his eyes firm as they looked at Rey. “I love you. You know that, right?”

Rey’s eyebrow furrowed in confusion. Despite how close they were, Ben was not an overly emotional guy-very rarely telling people he loved them. “I know, I love you too. Are you alright?”

The three words didn’t seem like enough to encompass what Ben might be feeling, but Rey could hardly find the words to ask her big brother if he was surviving or simply putting on a brave face.

“I’m fine.” Ben answered, his voice clipped. He set his glass down on the mantle, taking Rey’s shoulders in both of his hands. He pulled his sister into a hug, his long arms wrapping fully around her small frame. He rested his chin on the top of her head, closing his eyes as Rey squeezed him back. “I’d never do anything to hurt you, not on purpose anyway.”

Rey pulled back then, looking up at her brother, a worried look crossing her face. “Ben, I know you’d never do anything to hurt me. What are you talking about? You know you can tell me anything. Is something wrong?”

As she looked up at Ben, Rey thought she saw a flash of something like regret pass over his face before his expression turned impassive.

He smiled softly down at her, shaking his head and saying, “Nothing’s wrong, just tired. I think I’m going to call it a night.”

“Alright then, I’ll talk to you in the morning?” Rey said, reaching up on her tip toes to press a kiss to Ben’s cheek. He simply nodded at her before kissing Padme and Leia goodnight and leaving the room.

“I think we should all follow Bens lead and get to bed. We’ve all had a long day, and the days aren’t going to get any shorter in the coming weeks,” Leia said, setting her cup of tea on the coffee table and reaching a hand out to Poe. Without a work Poe took her extended hand in his own, placing his other one on her elbow before pulling the woman to her feet.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Poe said, pressing a kiss to Leia’s cheek before turning to help Padme up from her chair. The elderly woman smiled at Poe, cupping his jaw in her wrinkly hands before pecking him on the lips. She threw him a wink before following after her daughter.

Poe laughed at her retreating form, completely used to the antics of the older woman. He walked towards Rey then, wrapping his arms around her torso; he leaned down, pressing his face into the crook between her neck and shoulder. He gently kissed the sensitive skin there, his hands moving to squeeze her hips lightly.

Rey leaned into Poe’s warm form, her hands carding through his soft curls in a soothing manner. He was sturdy against her, years in the armed forces keeping him in tip top shape. His firm presence relaxed Rey, the muscles in her legs turning soft. Poe held her up, his arms gripping her firmly to keep her upright.

“Let’s get you to bed,” Poe said, leading Rey out of the room. They took the long trek to their room in silence, their even breathing and soft steps the only noise between them. When they made it to their quarters Rey let out a sigh of relief, their bed had never looked so appealing. She quickly looked down at herself, she’d need help getting out of the dress.

Without having to ask, Poe turned Rey’s form so that her back was to him. He crouched down at her feet, unbuckling the straps of her shoes before taking them off of her one at a time. Rey’s hand rested on his shoulder for balance, the action something she’d become accustomed to in her years with Poe. After her shoes were off, Poe stood back up to his full height. He shrugged out of his jacket, throwing it onto the dressing chair to be dealt with in the morning. He reached towards Rey, his hands running across the line of her shoulder before collecting her hair and moving it off of her back. With deft fingers, he unlatched the button at the top of her dress before taking the zipper in his fingers and pulling it down her back. His digits were warm where they brushed against her exposed back, shivers running down her spine at his delicate touch. He pushed the edge of the dress off her shoulder, his hand slipping between the fabric and her skin.

With one final push, the dress fell down her body landing in a pile at her feet. She stepped out of the circle, kicking the dress in the direction of Poe’s jacket. Rey turned her body towards Poe, her hands sliding up his arms before looping behind his neck. Her gaze trailed up his body, the white linen of his shirt fitting him perfectly. She looked up at him, taking notice of the hungry look in his eyes. She smirked before grabbing the collar of his shirt and roughly pulling his lips to hers.

Their lips clashed together, hands moving across bodies to pull the other closer. Rey ran her tongue against the seam of Poe’s lips, her hands tangling in the curly locks at the back of his neck. She could feel the desperation pouring off of Poe, the long week]s apart finally catching up to them. Her tongue slipped into Poe’s mouth as he granted her access, his own tongue moving in sync with hers. Poe’s large hands moved over her body, pulling at her long strands of hair; his hands trailing down to her hips before finally grasping her butt. He squeezed the flesh roughly, a moan escaping from his throat as Rey trailed kisses down his neck.

Poe pulled his head away from her, locking his eyes onto hers before capturing her lips with his own. He shifted his hands, placing them firmly underneath her rear before hoisting her body into the air.

Rey wrapped her legs around Poe’s waist, her arms locking behind his head as he moved them towards the bed. With one final press of his lips to hers Poe laid her down onto the plush bedding, crawling up the length of her body and pressing soft kisses to her exposed flesh.

She shivered at his touch, her fingers fumbling to undo the buttons on Poe’s shirt. Seeing her struggle, Poe stopped his ministrations, his own fingers moving to work at the buttons of his shirt. Quickly removing the garment, he laid his body back onto hers, his warm breath tickling the sensitive skin on her neck.

“I love you,” he whispered against her skin, his once soft actions becoming rougher as things progressed.

“I love you too,” she moaned, pulling his head up towards hers so she could kiss the smirk off his mouth.

 

* * *

 

“Rey? Darling?” Poe said gently, his hands running over her sleeping form. She shifted slightly a groan leaving her lips at being woken up. “I know it’s early, but you really must wake up.” His voice was soft but firm, allowing Rey to detect a trace of urgency in his words.

“Why are you not here?” She whispered, opening her eyes to look at Poe. Her right arm patting the empty space where he should have been.

“Somethings happened,” Poe responded simply, his hands freezing on her back. A slight tremor ran through him as he said, “It’s about Ben.”

 

Rey felt like vomiting. In all her years on earth she’d never felt such gut-wrenching nerves as she did in that moment. Her breathing came in short bursts, a chill running down the length of her spine. Her hands rested on her knees in front of her, she was distantly aware that she was shaking as the pads of her fingers ran along the smooth edges of the letter in her hands.  She’d read its contents half a dozen times, words swirling around in her head as she tried to process what this meant. She could hear the muffled sounds of people talking in the background; her mother and grandmother arguing with members of parliament. The prime minister stood off to the side, his face a blank slate as he tried to grasp the situation.

Rey was aware of Poe’s presence; out of the corner of her eye she could see his hand resting on her shoulder, though the warmth and weight that normally accompanied his touch was missing. All she could feel was the churning of her stomach and the thick paper in her hand. She looked down at the document, her eyes skimming along the edges before she began to reread the words on the page:

            “I, Benjamin Solo, rightful heir to the crown do hereby declare My irrevocable determination to renounce the Throne for Myself and for My descendants, and My desire that effect should be given to this instrument of Abdication immediately.

            In token whereof I have hereunto set My hand this tenth day of December, thirty four ABY, in the presence of the witnesses whose signatures are subscribed.

SIGNED AT

FORT BELVEDERE

IN THE PRESENCE OF

 

 

 

Rey knew the weight that the paper held, she knew the impact that it would have on her future…13 days ago Rey had a decent idea of where her future was heading. Poe would return to the country and they’d finally make good on the promise they’d made to each other before he left, they’d celebrate Christmas in London before going to visit Poe’s parents for New Years, they’d go riding in the country, they’d take a trip to Paris. They’d had so many plans, plans that would be forced to take a back seat to the future that the small piece of paper in her hands now dictated.

Rey thought of her father in that moment: she thought of the way his whole body would shake with laughter at something trivial, the way he’d talk to anyone about anything, the way his voice would soften whenever he talked to her, how passionate he was when discussing the things most important to him, and most importantly, how he talked of the monarchy.

Rey closed her eyes, the sound of her father’s voice gliding over her as the familiar timber brought a sense of calm with it.

_“Remember, Rey, the people look to the monarchy for something bigger than themselves an inspiration, a higher ideal. Something that will always be there, this is bigger than just you or me, this is the crown.”_

His voice faded away from her, though she could still feel the warmth of his presence deep in her bones. She took one final harsh breath, her lungs expanding and contracting under her sternum. Rey slowly opened her eyes, blinking to adjust to the brightness of the room. She reached out towards Poe blindly, her fingers grasping his before she stood from her seat.

His warm brown eyes were gazing into hers, the love he felt for her worn on his sleeve.

“Thank you,” she said softly. She cleared her throat, turning to look at the occupants of the room who’d all stopped talking and turned to face her.

“I know this comes as a surprise to us all, but despite it we will survive. The _crown_ _will survive_. For better or worse, the crown has landed on my head and I _promise_ you that I will do everything in my power to do right by it. Come hell or high water, the crown will always prevail.”


	2. I Wanna Dance With Somebody

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Damerey 5 +1 fic that centers around certain moments in Poe and Rey's life together and the tendency they have of dancing with somebody they love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've created moodboards to accompany every part in this story but part 3 (I just didn't wasn't feeling the one I initially created), which you can find on my tumblr page @PoeandReyDameron

**1**

The heat was something that Rey had grown accustomed to in her 20 years. She’d grown up in Arizona where one of the most enjoyable things to do was guess which objects would melt on the states hottest days. Rey’s current predicament didn’t hold a candle to the scorching temperatures she’d faced in the past… _but_ she’d been away for a while, and though D.C. had worse snow than it did heat the current temperature wasn’t something that Rey was happy about. Looking down at her shirt she contemplated taking the garment off-the thin material of her shirt sticking to her body uncomfortably-and just rocking her swim top, but she wasn’t too familiar with most of the people she was currently surrounded by. Her roommate Jess has invited her to a party that one of her old pilot friends was throwing; at the time Rey hadn’t been too keen on the idea of spending time with dozens of people she didn’t know but after a few beers she was starting to loosen up and enjoy herself…even if she was sweating buckets. Pulling herself out of her thoughts, she focused in on the girl standing next to her. Rose, she’d said her name was. She was cute, with long black hair cascading over her small form and bright smiling eyes. They’d been talking about university and making tentative plans to grab a coffee sometime.

“Rey? You in there?” Rose asked, looking at Rey intently, her brows furrowing together in worry.

“Ya, I’m fine. Sorry about that, it’s just really hot.” Rey responded, smiling at Rose in a reassuring way before pressing her cold beer to her cheek. “What were you saying?”

“Why don’t you go inside? You are looking rather flushed. Let me see if Poe has any ice packs. Those would work better than your drink.”

Before Rey could stop her, the short woman was gone, walking over to the other side of the roof where a man with curly brown hair was talking to Jess and someone who Rose had referred to as  Finn early on in their conversation.

When Rose reached the trio, she rested an arm on Finn’s shoulder before leaning forward and saying something to Poe.  After a few moments, Poe looked up towards Rey, shooting a small smile in her direction. He turned back to say something to Rose before getting up from his seat and walking towards Rey.

“Rey? Hi, I’m Poe,” he said, extending one of his large hands towards Rey, a large smile taking over his face.

She looked down at it briefly before pressing her hand to his in a quick introduction. “I know,” she said, blushing at the man in front of her. He was even more attractive up close; from this distance she was even more aware of how his eyelashes brushed against his cheek, the warm tan that covered his body from spending so much time outdoors, and how his deep brown eyes were flecked with gold.

Her response to his introduction only made him smile wider. He shook his hand before placing a hand on the small of Rey’s back, leading her towards the rooftop door. His hand was cool on her back-a result of the beer he’d been holding a moment beforehand-the unexpected feeling sending a shiver down her spine. The pressure of his fingers against her back was a welcome feeling, butterflies fluttering in her stomach as he used the hand to direct her. He held the door open for her, his hand brushing against her arm as she stepped into the stairwell. They took the short trip to his apartment in comfortable silence, Poe humming softly as he led her to his door. He made quick work of the lock, pulling a key out of the light fixture by his door.

“Welcome to my humble abode,” he said, gesturing her into his apartment. As she stepped into the apartment, her eyes flitted around the apartment, taking in the quaint space with intrigued eyes. Rey was a firm believer that you could tell a lot about a person based on how they lived, and from what she could see about Poe’s apartment she was starting to get an idea about what kind of man he was. His apartment was full of varying pieces of furniture, some that looked like they were antiques and others that looked more modern in their structure. Though the space was full everything was tidy, a few stray stacks of papers and books lying on the varying surfaces being the only items out of place.

“Nice place you got here,” Rey said, glancing at Poe before moving further into the apartment as Poe went into the kitchen to grab her an ice pack. She stopped at the coffeetable where a pile of books was resting. Picking up the top one, she was met with the face of Senator Leia Organa-Solo staring back at her. There were sticky notes of various colors sticking out of the top, a pen laying on the table next to the stack of books. Turning towards the kitchen, Rey saw Poe standing in the threshold between the two rooms, an ice pack clutched in one hand and a towel in the other. Rey raised an eyebrow at him in question, setting the book back on the table before walking towards Poe. He wrapped the ice pack in the towel quickly before handing it to her.

“My boss,” he said simply, watching as Rey placed the ice pack against the back of her neck, moving it every few seconds to distribute the coldness. “She’s an incredible woman.”

“Indeed she is, I’ve heard a lot of inspiring things about her.” Rey said, smiling at Poe softly.

“She’s actually got a speech coming up, if you’re interested. She just got back from Florida and she’s only got a few more dates on her circuit.”

“That sounds like fun. What do you do exactly, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I’m her head of security,” Poe said, smiling as Rey looked at him in awe, a blush slowly rising to his cheeks. “I’ve been with her ever since I stepped away from the air force. That was something like 3 or 4 years ago.”

“Wow,” Rey responded, her mind immediately shifting to The Princess Diaries, her imagination picturing Poe wearing aviators and ear pieces as he protected the senator. “That’s impressive. How does something like that happen? Going from a hot shot pilot to a senator’s head of security?”

“Hey! We take offense to that!” Poe quipped, his voice raising in response to the accusation. Rey smiled, moving to take a seat on the sofa. Poe followed behind her, sitting down so there was a foot or so of space between them. “Actually, I basically grew up in her house. She was good friends with my parents before I was born, and she’s got a son who’s one of my closest friends. Sunday night dinners at the Solo house with my family and theirs. It was quite an experience.”

“I bet,” Rey whispered, staring softly at the man in front of her. There was an excitement to his words, like he’d been transported in time and was relieving the memories all over again. When he pulled himself out of his thoughts he turned to Rey with a smile before asking, “What about you? Tell me about you.”

They sat in Poe’s living room for hours, the day passing them by as Rey told Poe about how she’d moved from Phoenix a few years back to studying engineering at Georgetown University, how she worked at a garage part time, how she’d met Jess, and every odd thing that he wanted to know about. He watched her animatedly throughout their conversation, only moving away once to turn on some jazz music and to get them both a drink. Rey was enamored with his gaze; his soft brown eyes were expressive and shined brightly when he looked at her. Poe had told her about being a pilot and growing up with Leia Organa as an aunt. He told her about his favorite places to travel and how he thought she’d love London; he shared some of his favorite childhood memories and talked about how he’d fallen in love with flying from his mom.

“She’s sounds amazing,” Rey exclaimed after Poe finished telling her a story about the first time his mother-Shara Bey-had taken him up in a plane.  

“She was,” Poe whispered, glancing down at the drink in his hand.

“Oh, Poe…I’m so sorry,” she said, hesitating before placing her free hand on his.

“It’s alright. You wouldn’t have known. It was a long time ago.”

Poe stood up from his place on the couch, knocking back what remained in his glass before setting it down on the coffee table. Looking at her, Poe couldn’t help but admire her beauty. She wasn’t like the other girls he’d been with. She was unique; direct in her answers, strong, passionate, but all the while grounded and somewhat quiet. He extended his hand to her, looking into her hazel eyes with his own brown ones. He tried to convey a sense of peace as he gazed at her. After a moments hesitation she extended her hand to his, gently capturing his fingers in her own. He pulled her up from the couch, dragging her body towards his as he maneuvered his hands to rest in the proper position. One was still intertwined with hers while the other rested gently on the small of her back.

She relaxed into Poe’s embrace, her free hand moving to curl around his neck as her fingers played with the ends of his hair. She let out a sigh as she moved her head to rest against his shoulder, their bodies pressed tightly together. She could feel the warmth radiating off of him, his half-buttoned shirt doing little to keep the heat at bay. With a start she realized how exposed she was in his embrace, her thin tank doing little to prevent her skin from touching his. She gave herself a moment to adjust to the pressure of him around her before moving their bodies to the rhythm of the music. She didn’t know what song was playing, but the smooth voice combined with the drink she’d had and Poe’s warmth made quick work of ridding Rey of the pressure that usually weighed on her. She stopped thinking about the car she was working on at the shop, the assignments she had coming up, instead focusing on Poe and the woodsy scent that radiated off of him.  

 She felt pressure at the crown of her head as Poe kissed her before resting his cheek on her head and saying quietly, “thank you.”

“For what?” Rey questioned, not pulling away from Poe’s embrace.

“For today,” Poe whispered, squeezing her hand firmly. “I haven’t been this relaxed in a long time.”

“Me either.”

* * *

 

**2**

“Buddy! What took you so long?” Finn questioned as soon as Poe walked into the bar.

Poe shook his head at his friend’s antics, raising the hand that was clasped with Rey’s in answer to the question.

“Hey! None of that! You were partly to blame for us being late.” Rey scoffed, turning towards her boyfriend at the accusation.

Poe smirked at her; her eyes were bright as she looked into his, a wide smile gracing her face making the freckles on her nose stand out more than normal. On instinct, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the bridge of her nose, covering the freckles he had been admiring a moment before.

“Rey!”

Turning at the sound of her name, Rey was enveloped in a hug as Rose stood on her tip toes and wrapped her arms around Rey’s taller frame. “Happy Birthday! I can’t believe you’re finally 21! This is so exciting!”

Rey laughed into her friend’s shoulder, hugging Rose back before pulling away to look the woman in the eyes. “Thank you, Rose.”

“Move over, Tico. I wanna hug the birthday girl,” Jess said, pushing Rose out of the way and enveloping her roommate into a warm hug. “Happy Birthday, sweets. I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.”

Hugging the taller woman back, Rey shot a quick glance towards Poe’s shaking form; he was the reason she hadn’t been to her shared apartment in a few days. Poe had gotten a few days off and they’d spent the week leading up to her birthday either out exploring the city or holed up in Poe’s apartment, both activities exhausting in their own way.

“I’ve missed you too,” Rey replied, pressing a kiss to the other woman’s forehead, rubbing the spot afterwards to remove residue lipstick.

“Come on, let’s go get you a drink!” Jess said, grabbing Rey by the hand and pulling her towards the bar.

Rey reached back towards Poe as her friend pulled her away, her hand reaching out to grab onto his before Jess dragged her too far away. He laughed, grabbing her hand briefly before letting Jessika pull her away. Rey pouted at the man in jest before turning towards her friend and letting her pull her the rest of the way.

Within seconds Jessika had ordered a round of shots, shooting the bartender a flirty smile before wrapping her arm around Rey’s shoulders.

“So how has your day been so far? Do anything fun?” Jessika asked her friend as they waited for their order. The bartender was working quickly a foot or so away from them, glancing up every few seconds to look at Jessika. Rey couldn’t blame her, Jess looked hot in her off the shoulder dress. The red color contrasting nicely with her tanned skin and black hair. Once upon a time Rey would have felt self-conscious about her friends beauty compared to her own, but in the past few months she’d come to more fully appreciate her own features.

“Not much. Breakfast in bed, lunch at that pizza joint that just opened up. We stayed home most of the day.” Rey said simply, ignoring the knowing look her friend was shooting her.

“Ahh, so it was that kind of day? How are you still walking?” Jessika asked, glancing over at Poe and then down at Rey.

“Jess! Stop!” Rey laughed blushing slightly, she shoved her friend gently before reaching around her and grabbing the trey the bartender placed in front of them.

“You know I just love making you blush! It’s so easy!” Jess smirked, grabbing the trey from Rey and moving to the collection of tables that had been hastily pushed together earlier in the night.

All their friends had already taken seats at the table, cups and bottles littering the surface. The table cheered as Jess set the trey of shots down, everyone taking one as Rey moved to sit beside Poe. He opened his arm to her, pulling her into his side before reaching forward himself and grabbing a glass and handing it to Rey.

“Happy Birthday, Sunshine,” Poe said, raising his own glass in toast. The group repeated the toast before everyone took the shot, Rey following closely behind. The liquid burned her throat as it went down, the bitter taste brining a frown to her face.

“I knew she wouldn’t like it, pay up Trooper!” Rose said, slapping her hand against Finns chest. Her boyfriend rolled his eyes before leaning over to kiss her on the mouth.

“Get a room!” Kare yelled as she curled farther into Iolos’ embrace. Her short legs were tucked underneath her, making her look smaller than usual.

Rey felt rather than heard Poe’s soft laughter as his chest shook beside her. She set her glass down before looking up at him. He hadn’t shaved in a few days, as a result his face was covered in the beginnings of a beard. Rey had come to appreciate the combination of a few days scruff and the dark curls hanging by his ears; it made him look more rugged, something that Rey discovered she liked very much.

“Here, I think you’ll like this better,” Snap said, setting a drink in front of Rey. She smiled up at the older man, thanking him silently before taking a sip of the drink. She nodded in approval, taking another sip before moving to sit further against Poe’s chest.

The group around her grew louder as the night wore on and drink were consumed. Laughter following them as they moved from their seats to the pool table in the corner of the room. Rey sat at a high-top table by the group, Rose in the seat next to her and Jess leaning up against the table. Kare and the boys were crowded around the table, splitting up into teams and starting the game as the trio of girls drank and gossiped in the corner. Halfway through the game, Poe left the pool table and moved over to the girls, setting his glass of whiskey down on the table and leaning into Rey’s side.

“What are you three talking about over here?” He asked as Rey grabbed his hand and rested it in her lap. His thumb moved along the back of her hand, his attention only half on the answer that Jess was currently giving him. Rey’s skin was soft to the touch, the care she took evident in how her palms were callous free.

“-and no one really believed a word of it,” Jess exclaimed, her hands shifting animatedly as she filled Poe in on what they’d been discussing.

Poe nodded politely, though Rey could tell he hadn’t been paying attention to anything Jess had just said. He leaned more fully on Rey, the drinks he’d been taking throughout the night relaxing his body and making him sway slightly. Taking his hand more firmly in her own, she slipped out of her chair and pulled Poe towards the empty space near the jukebox. Poe didn’t stop her as she slipped a hand into his jeans pocket, digging around for the spare change that he always had on him. After a moment of digging she pulled out a quarter and slipped it into the machine, pressing the appropriate buttons to get Landslide by Stevie Nicks to play. With the first notes beginning to flow through the air around them, Rey pulled Poe closer to her, wrapping her arms low around his waist, her thumbs slipping into his belt loop. His muscular arms wrapped around her, locking together on her back as she rested her cheek against his sweater clad chest. They moved in sync as the song continued, their bodies pressed firmly together as warmth passed freely between them.

“Thank you for today,” Rey whispered, pressing a kiss to Poe’s chest.

“Anything for you,” Poe responded, pulling back slightly so that he could look at Rey’s face. She looked up at him, her large doe eyes causing Poe’s heart to melt. God he loved her, he’d contemplated telling her multiple times in the past few weeks but it never seemed like the right time. He wanted the moment to be special, something that she’d remember forever. She had so few precious memories, something that hadn’t settled well in Poe’s stomach when she’d told him about how rough her childhood had been. In that moment Poe had made a silent promise that he would do everything in his power to bring happiness to her life, regardless of the cost.

He felt successful up until this point in time. He’d taken Rey to different places in the city, showing her things that she never could have imagined seeing. He’d taken her on day trips to neighboring towns, the pair spending the day explore new places and making memories that would last a lifetime. It was simple days like that where he’d get trapped in his desire to tell her; he wanted to tell her, he wanted to make sure that she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was wanted, but something always stopped him from telling her. In all honestly, Poe knew what was plaguing him. She’d only turned 21 today, three months after their first official date; she was so young, she’d only just started having meaningful life experiences. Poe was acutely aware of the way people looked at them, an older man and a young girl. Stares followed them whenever they were out together; usually Poe was able to ignore it, too wrapped up in Rey to pay any attention to those around them. But sometimes he got trapped in his thoughts, his mind reeling with the 10 year age difference between them. He felt like a pervy old man at times, feasting on Rey’s youth. It was in moments like that where he doubted their relationship, struggling with the fact that ten years was nothing in the grand scheme of things.

“Poe? Where’d you go?” Rey asked, turning her head to look up at Poe. He stood only a few inches taller than her-less if she was wearing heels-though he outweighed her by almost 60 lbs.. She squeezed his bicep tightly, trying to draw him out of his thoughts and back to the present. After a few moments he shook his head and turned to look at her, his warm brown eyes shinning brightly when their gazes locked.

“There you are,” she whispered, smiling softly at him before wrapping her hands around his neck and drawing him down the few inches until his lips pressed against hers.

His lips were soft against her mouth, Rey could taste faint traces of whiskey as she leaned into the kiss. His warm arms wrapped around her small waist, lifting her slightly as he increased the pressure of his kiss. His body relaxed against Rey’s, the tension in his muscles draining slowly as he immersed himself in the feeling of Rey’s touch on his body. Her hands glided over his back, her deft fingers pressing into the knots there. Poe moaned in response to her touch, goosebumps forming on his arms as he shivered underneath her.

After what felt like an eternity-but in reality, was only a few moments-the pair pulled apart. Rey placed her head in the crook of his neck, inhaling the musky scent that was Poe as the man himself wrapped his arms around Rey’s waist before tucking his hands into her back pockets and resting his cheek against her temple, the end of the song washing over them.

* * *

 

**3**

“Excuse me! Excuse me! I’m looking for Poe Dameron. He was brought in not long ago.” Rey managed to gasp out as she skidded up to the nurse’s station, her clothing twisted around her body. Her palms were placed firmly on the desk as she stared down at the nurse on duty.

“Are you a relative?” The nurse asked simply, her eyes bugging slightly at the disheveled sight of the woman in front of her.

“I’m his fiancé. Please, can you tell me if he’s okay?”

The nurse looked at Rey wearily, glancing down to look at Rey’s bare left hand. She raised her eyebrows in question before sighing at the terrified girl in front of her, taking pity and directing Rey to Poe’s room.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Rey exclaimed, forcing a smile as she followed the directions the nurse had given her to Poe’s room. After weaving around wheelchairs and turning corners she stopped in front of the door. 1015. She raised her hand to knock but thought better of it and pushed the door open instead, peaking her head around the door to look into the room. The lights in the room were dimmed, the curtains drawn to keep out the last recesses of daylight. The only noise in the room came from the man positioned in the hospital bed, his soft breathing doing wonders to relax Rey. Stepping fully into the room, Rey quietly closed the door behind her as she tiptoed closer to the bed.

She stopped at the foot of the bed, picking up the chart and reading over it. A few cracked ribs, a minor concussion, no internal bleeding. She set the chart back in its spot, gazing intently at the man swathed in a dingy hospital gown. She reached her right hand out to grip the ankle that was sticking out of the sheets; his dark skin warm to the touch as she pulled it back under the blanket, tucking the edges underneath him gently.

“Hey.”

Rey’s head shot up at the sound, a smile slowly coming to her face despite the situation they found themselves in.

“Hey yourself.” She said, walking around the bed and perching on the edge of the mattress by his hand, picking it up and clasping it between both of hers.

As she gazed at the man before her she became all to aware of the toils that he’d taken in the last few hours. There were dark circles under his eyes, small cuts littering his face, and dried sweat coating his hair, face, and neck. Leaning forward, she gently ran a hand along the edge of his jaw; her fingers tracing the cuts and bruises that covered the once pristine skin, her nails raking through the stubble on his jaw. She felt more than saw him shiver at her touch, the warmth from her hand working to heat up his cooled skin.

“Are you going to tell me what happened?” She asked softly, her fingers moving to his hair as Poe breathing in to collect his thoughts.

“I see no other way out of this, so I guess I’ve got to.” He quipped, shaking his head slightly. “You know Snap and I were going upstate for the day to visit some old friends from the academy?” He looked at her questioning, only continuing his story after she nodded in the affirmative. “Well we were heading back and Snap bet that I couldn’t jump the railing at Ines Park and I couldn’t have that dare hanging over my head. And I may have miscalculated so I ended up not making the jump….and well, here we are!” His words rushed as he quickly spit out the story, hoping to cover up the stupidity of his injury.

“Wait? What? You got yourself admitted to the hospital because of a dare?”

He nodded.

“And you’re telling me that this happened via you trying to jump the railing? Not some accident that couldn’t be avoided?” She asked, gesturing to his prone form to get her point across.

Poe nodded meekly, gazing up at Rey from under long eyelashes to gauge her emotions. She was breathing normally, so that was a good sign Poe thought. Though she was looking a little red, which could definitely mean she was angry. And the grip she had on his hand was getting a little tight…yep, she was probably angry at him. Poe winced at the pressure on his hand as she squeeze it tightly between her own. After a moment of sitting in silence, waiting for the other shoe to drop Rey finally exploded in anger.

“I worry about you enough when you’ve off doing god knows what for your job! Did you really need to add to my stress by doing something stupid? Something that could have been avoided!” The grip on his hand increases with each word, her knuckles turning white from the pressure. Her eyes are staring wildly into his own, her irises blown. “Did you even think about how I would feel if something happened to you?”

The grim look on her face softens as she asks again, “did you?”

Poe let out a sigh, staring down at their clasped hands. The pressure keeps him grounded as he answers honestly. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. It’s something that I’ve got to work on, I’m impulsive and I didn’t think how you would feel if I got hurt.”

Her iron grip relaxes slightly at his honest answer-her eyes searching his face to try and gauge his thoughts. “You voluntarily put your life in danger every time you step out to do your job. And every time you leave I lie awake at night wondering if you’ll come back to me, if you’ll come back to the life we’re building.  I lie there, and I think about how much I love you and how I would give anything to have you come back to me, because the world is full of crazy people and anything could happen at any moment, things that no one can control.”

A sigh escapes Poe’s mouth at her words. They’d been skirting around those three words for months now; Poe himself had known since day one that what he felt for her was real but he’d kept the words to himself for fear of scaring her away.

“Rey. I didn’t know. I’m sorry you have to go through that. I’m sorry that I did something stupid and ended up here. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for you.” Poe reached forward, his fingers brushing along Rey’s jaw, sending shivers down her spine. “And for what it’s worth…I love you too.”

She looked up then, her hazel eyes locking onto his. “You do?”

Poe nodded, his thumb rubbing back and forth along her cheekbone. “I do, so darn much. It’s my love for you that keeps me sane when I’m out of town for weeks on end. I think about you and the life I want to build with you and how the only way any of that will happen is if I come back to _you_. So Rey, will you please forgive me?”

“Of course I forgive you,” she answered, drawing closer to Poe and pressing her forehead to his own. Their breath mingled together, the sweet scent of her perfume washing over Poe’s fatigued body. He wrapped his arms around her back, his hands locking together at the base of her spine as she gripped his hospital gown in both hands-the fabric crinkling under her touch as they moved slowly together.  “Just promise me that you’ll think before you take any more bets from Snap. Or anyone for that matter.”

“I promise,” he said, his face pressed into the crook of her neck as he continued to sway their upper bodies back and forth to music that only he could hear.

* * *

 

**4**

“Well can you really blame them? She looks stunning! And half of them were starting to think you’d made her up, this is the first time you’ve brought her to one of these things.” Jess said as she stood next to Poe, the pair of them looking out to the dance floor where Rey was dancing with an older senator. She’d been on the dance floor for the past half hour, dancing with a variety of men. They’d come to the party as guests of Leia, not her security detail. Something Leia had been very adamant about when she’d asked Poe to come a few weeks back.

“We’ve been dating for two and a half years!” Poe exclaimed, glancing at his friend before turning back to look at Rey. They hadn’t had the chance to dance together yet. Poe had been sucked into conversation after conversation with people he’d met in the last few months and somewhere along the way Rey had been whisked away by a press secretary. He’d been mildly jealous at first, the jealousy only growing as he watched her dancing out of the corner of his eye.

“Stop looking so mopey. Just go interrupt. No one’s gonna fault you.” Jess said, taking in Poe’s frown and sad eyes as he gazed at Rey.

“I can’t, that’s Senator Ackbar. He doesn’t much like Leia and bes-“

Jess shoved him forward, rolling her eyes as he talked. He stumbled to catch himself, the few glasses of whiskey he’d had making his body feel heavy. “Get your head out of you ass and go get your girl.”

Poe shook his head before thanking his friend and turning to the dance floor. He made quick work of weaving through the other couples, arriving at Rey’s side in less than a minute.

“Excuse me, would you mind if I cut in?” Poe asked as the pair stopped dancing to look at him. Rey smiled softly, her eyes twinkling at the sight of him. He looked dashing in his tuxedo; his hair was slightly longer, the strands curling around his ears, the full beard he’d been growing out adding a rugged layer to his appearance.

“Not at all,” Rey said quickly, sending a 100 watt smile in Senator Ackbar’s direction before releasing his hand and turning towards Poe. Her smile transformed as she gazed at him. Gone was the fake over the top smile, in its place was a soft upturn of the lips, the muscles of Rey’s face relaxing now that she didn’t have to pretend.

Taking Poe’s offered hand in her own, she pulled the man closer to him, wrapping an arm around his waist and leaning into his sturdy body.

“Hey,” Poe whispered softly into her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.

“Hey yourself,” she responded, nuzzling her nose into the crook of his neck and placing tender kisses to the exposed flesh. “I was starting to think I’d lost you there.”

“Well no need to worry about that now. I don’t plan on letting you out of my arms for the remainder of the evening.”

“I like the sound of that.”

The pair swayed back and forth gently to the music the orchestra was playing as couples around them danced rhythmically to a waltz. Rey didn’t care that they were out of place in the crowd, she’d never felt more right than she did right now; Poe’s arms around her waist, caressing the exposed skin on her lower back, his face smooshed against the side of her head as he kissed her temple every so often. Her own arms were wrapped tightly around his neck, the fingers on her right hand playing with the diamond ring on her left.

Poe had given it to her a few days beforehand while they’d been sitting at home eating takeout and talking about their day. She hadn’t expected it in the slightest; they’d discussed marriage countless times, both agreeing that it was something they wanted sooner rather than later. Rey felt trepid at times thinking about the implications of marriage and the overall weight of it; she was worried about being a good wife-as she hadn’t had good examples of marriage in her life-and being true to herself. But the moment Poe had presented her with the ring all of her worries and doubts had fallen away, and it was just the two of them, curled up together on the couch in their pajamas with boxes of takeout in front of them. She cherished moments like this, where the world fell away and they were just Poe and Rey. Rey and Poe. And she’d never been happier.  

* * *

 

**5**

The keys jangled from her fingers as she walked up to their front door, her purse hiked up on her shoulder and her hand loosely linked to Poe’s as he walked a few steps behind her, their pet corgi BB-8 trailing at their feet. Rey had gotten the puppy for Poe a few weeks ago for his 35th birthday after he wouldn’t shut up for the longest time about wanting one. They hadn’t actually gotten the puppy on his birthday, Poe had been having a fit about there being children everywhere and how the ratio of children to adults in their neighborhood was rapidly shifting in favor of the children. He’d complained on numerous occasions that he’d come home to bicycles blocking the sidewalks and various outdoor toys littering the steps of their walkup. Rey knew that despite all his complains he didn’t actually mind all the children, she’d caught him on numerous occasions briefly playing with them on his way into the house. Sometime he would stop to show someone the proper way to hoola-hoop or to play a quick game of hopscotch. During one of his rants a few weeks prior he’d expressed his desire to get a dog and how if he had one he would just play with it and the children would no longer be an issue. Rey-growing tired of his complains-had snapped and said “Well I’m getting you a dog for your birthday alright?” He’d shut up instantly and asked, “Really? Well let’s just go get one now!”

After doing some brief research they’d headed own to the pound and ended up with the sweet orange corgi that was now weaving between their legs, tangling his leash and almost causing Poe to fall flat on his face. “BB-8! You can’t keep doing that!” Poe said in mock exasperation, releasing his hold on Rey’s hands to untangle the corgi. Rey smiled at the pair before walking up the stairs to unlock the door.

The house was currently in a state of controlled chaos, boxes and boxes of household items and clothing littering every room. They’d moved in at the end of the previous week and had been slowly but surely shifting through things so that they were prepared for when they both returned to work the following week. Getting a larger place together had been the obvious thing to do after getting engaged; Rey had graduated and gotten a job at Solo engineering where she worked closely with the man himself to develop new tech for aircrafts- Poe all to willing to jump back into the cockpit and be their Guinea pig, something he’d been longing to do for a while.

Holding the door open for her boys, she let them slip in before shutting the door behind her and locking it. She threw her keys down into the basket by the door and slipped off her shoes and jacket. Rey could hear Poe rustling in the kitchen-the only room they had almost fully functioning-for silverware and dishes. Padding over to the couch she took the boxes of Chinese out of the bag and started putting portions on the plates that Poe set in front of her.

“What do you want to drink?” he asked, heading back into the kitchen.

“Beer, please!”

He set their twin glasses down on the table when he returned, taking the plate that Rey handed him before sitting on the couch and turning so that his back was pressed against the armrest, his feet crossed under him as he looked at Rey. She was in a position similar to his own, her legs stretched out in front of her; her toes brushing up against his legs as she ate her food. His lips turned up at the sight of her across from him, the sun coming in from the window behind her creating a halo of sorts around her. Poe had never seen anything more beautiful in all his life. His gaze following her movements as she brought the glass of beer up to her mouth, his own food forgotten in front of him.

“Stop it,” Rey said suddenly, poking Poe in the thigh with her toe to get his attention.

“Stop what?” he asked, confused at what she could possibly want him to stop doing.

“Stop staring at me as I eat!” She laughed, looking at him pointedly.

“Sorry!” He said as she continued to prod him with her foot. “I can’t help it. You’re just so stunning.”

She blushed at his words, her gaze falling down to her lap before she set her food on the table. She reached forward, taking Poe’s plate out of his hands-ignoring his “hey”-and setting it on the table next to her own plate. She smirked up at him playfully, pivoting in her spot and crawling along the couch so that she was directly in front of him.

He stilled as Rey drew near, his throat bobbing as he looked at her. Her hair was cascading freely down her back, the edges barely brushing her shoulder blades. She’d gone semi-makeup free today-a look that Poe was pretty partial to because he could see all of her freckles-only a think coat of mascara coating her lashes The weather outside was just starting to get warmer, though there was still a constant breeze in the air that made it seem like spring would never come. She was wearing one of Poe’s stolen t-shirts, the v-neck swallowing her small frame.

Poe reached forward, his hand brushing back a loose piece of her hair before cupping her chin in his palm. The pad of his thumb ran back and forth across her smooth skin, his warm eyes gazing into hers. He surged forward, tipping towards her to bring his lips to hers. Her hands wrapped around his neck, her fingers linking together in his curls as she shifted so that she was kneeling in front of him-forcing him to turn his neck up so that their lips stayed pressed together. His hands trailed own her neck, causing Rey to moan into his mouth as his hands trailed down her body. They rested on her waist, his fingers sliding underneath her shirt to firmly hold the exposed skin.

After a few minutes they pulled away from one another gasping for breath. Rey settled on Poe’s lap, her knees pressed firmly against Poe’s thighs.

Quickly pecking her on the lips one final time, Poe pressed his nose into the crook of her neck, breathing in her unique scent-daisies and dove soap he decided.

“You don’t think we’re too old to be making out on the couch like teenagers, do you?” Rey asked, her fingers running through the curls on the sides of Poe’s head causing him to purr at the sensation.

“Never. I want to still be making out on the couch with you when we’re old and grey. That’s why I gave you this.” Poe responded, briefly tapping the engagement ring on her finger.

Rey huffed in laughter, an image of a grey Poe flashing in her head. “I can see that. Our children are going to hate us.”

“Ah, I can’t wait,” Poe said, a broad smile on his face as he gazed at Rey. “Only three more months and then I get to call you mine forever.”

Rey blushed before pressing a kiss to his browbone and scooting off of his lap. Her hand ran down the length of his arm, her fingers sliding into the slots between his own as she stood from the couch. “Dance with me,” she said, pulling firmly on their joint hands. “We’ve got to practice.”

Poe laughed but conceded, standing to his full height and walking over to a clear patch of the room. “I’d practice with you any day of the week.”

He shifted his hand in hers so that they were positioned properly, his other hand moving to rest on her hip as she rested her free hand on his shoulder. Poe gazed into Rey’s hazel eyes, admiring the flecks of gold and green and how perfectly her lashes framed her beautiful orbs.

They moved to the melody only they could hear, their feet inches apart as they shifted around the room, twirling and dipping as laughter rang through the air.

“Only 90 days, my future husband,” Rey whispered after Poe pulled her up from a dip, their faces a breath apart.

“Only 90 days, my future wife.” Poe responded, smiling softly at the woman before him; a woman he was all to eager to marry in 90 days’ time.

 

* * *

 

**+1**

The slow melody washed over the pair, the rise and fall of the notes calming their racing hearts. Dancing had always been something that they did together; something that allowed them to find intimate moments in the most random of places. They had fallen in love with one another in moments like this, their love strengthening with every passing moment.

Rey exhaled slowly, her eyes blinking to try and capture the tears that threatened to fall. All around them Rey could sense the presence of their wedding guest as they gazed out at the pair on the dance floor. Their wedding had been an intimate affair on a rooftop-similar to how they had met all those years ago-surrounded by their friends, family, and bushels of dogs. Han Solo had walked her down the aisle-the man becoming somewhat of a father figure to Rey as their relationship grew, Rose had stood in as her maid of honor, Finn as Poe’s best man, they’d said their vows as the sun was setting behind them-the rays of light and colors flashing across the guests, Poe had cried when Rey walked down the aisle towards him, a veil covering her own teary eyes.

They had moved under a pavilion strung with fairy lights and been introduced to their guests as Mr. and Mrs. Poe Dameron. Rey could still feel the goosebumps that had erupted all over her body when Jessika had introduced them.

“I love you,” Poe whispered softly into her ear, his face pressed against the side of her head, his arms wrapped around her torso as they swayed to the music the band was playing.

“I love you too,” Rey answered, pressing a chaste kiss to the curve of Poe’s neck-his beard tickling her face-as her hands slipped underneath his jacket to grip the suspenders he was wearing. She held on tightly, cherishing the peace and stillness that came with the moment.

Poe pulled back slightly, one of his hands moving to cup the side of her face. He pressed his lips to hers briefly as someone in the crowd clinked a knife against their glass. Poe had taken it upon himself to teach all the wedding traditions he knew to Rey after they had gotten engaged-things that Rey hadn’t known about but was thrilled to incorporate into their own wedding. Toasts and garters and having something blue. Together they had planned their wedding-bouncing ideas off of each other’s heads as they worked the pieces together.

As the song came to its end, Rey stretched her neck to reach Poe’s lips once more, her mouth slanting over his in a tender kiss. His mouth parted slightly in a moan as she pulled his face closer to hers by tugging on the hair at the nape of his neck.

“Get a room!” Finn yelled from the edge of the dancefloor, Rose tucked into his side. He was smiling broadly at the pair, happiness written clearly on his face.

“Hey man!” Finn gasped in mock exasperation when Poe shot him the bird. The friends were ribbing each other from across the rooftop, their antics causing the guests to erupt in laughter.

“Well there you have it ladies and gentlemen. We’re been blessed with another Damerey dance,” Jessika announced before adding quietly, “not that they don’t dance all the kriffing time.”

Seeing the response her comment got from the crowd Jess added, “right? These goofballs just can’t help themselves! But can we really blame them? I mean look at them! They’re perfect together! And with that I’m gonna say it’s time we get our groove on and boogie!”

Cheers erupted from the crowd as the band struck up an upbeat tune, brining all of the guests out onto the dance floor. Rey smiled at Poe, grabbing his hands in hers and pulling him around in exaggerated dance moves. Their guests came up to them as they danced, taking the time to bust a move, take a selfie, and wish them well. They’d been dancing and chatting for what felt like an eternity before Jess interrupted the music to announce that they’d be doing speeches and then cutting the cake. As the dance floor cleared and everyone took their seats once more, champagne was passed around by a few waiters as Poe and Rey tried to catch their breath-exhausted from all the fun they’d been having.

“And now a toast from the best man, Finn!”

“Thank you thank you,” Finn said into the microphone as he stood in front of the bridal parties table. He’d shed his suite jacket at some point in the night, the suspenders he’d been wearing underneath hanging around his legs.

“Wait, wait. Gotta fix these.” He said, gesturing to his suspenders and then pointing at Poe. “Can’t be looking better than the man of the hour. Okay, now that we’ve cleared the air I just want to thank everyone for coming out to celebrate with us this evening. I think I can speak for everyone here when I say this has been one of the best parties either of you has ever thrown. Thanks for the free booze!  Now down to the nitty gritty. Rey, thank you so much for doing this. I was really getting tired of this mans shit and then you swooped in and saved the day! Not to be cheesy or anything but you really are his ray of light. You showed up and brought joy, happiness, humility, strength, courage, and so many other things to not only Poe’s life…but to mine. Over the course of these past years you’ve become like a sister to me. Someone who will support me no matter what and not judge too harshly when I do something stupid.”

Rey pinched her fingers together as if to say _only a little bit._ The smile she’d been wearing all night turning slightly mischievous.

“And because of all those traits I know that you’re perfect for Poe. While he does have some stupid tendencies, the two of you balance each other out perfectly. Seeing the two of you grow in your relationship and hold each other up and love one another has been an inspiration to me. And I’m so…so…so thankful that you’ve allowed me to be on this journey with you. Now, Poe, buddy. Not to get all emotional here, but you truly saved my life all those years ago. In that moment I not only gained a future, but a lifelong friend. You’ve seen me at my best and at my worst and you’ve stayed by my side the whole time. You taught me the importance of staying true to who you are, to never back down when you believe in something, and to give yourself fully to what you love. You’re my best friend. You’re my brother. I love you both dearly. Thank you for all the memories. Here’s to many more years!”

Poe raised his glass at his friend, tears shinning in his eyes at Finns words. He clinked his glass against Reys before taking a small sip, quickly pressing his lips to Rey’s before setting his glass down and making his way over to his friend.

Poe pulled Finn to him, wrapping his arms around his dearest friend before saying gently, “Thank you. I love you, buddy. Here’s to many more years of exciting memories.”

When the pair separated they turned away from the other, dabbing at their eyes once more-something that the photographer was quick to catch as she moved around the room.

“Now that we’ve all established that Poe and Finn have the worlds best bromance,” Jess announced. “Let’s give it up for our maid of honor, Rose Tico!”

“Thank you, Jess.” Rose said as the older woman handed her the microphone before taking her seat. “Hi, I’m Rose. I’m not the best at public speaking so when Rey said that I had to do this I was slightly paranoid that I’d screw things up. So that’s why I wrote out what I was going to say.”

She took the folded-up piece of paper she’d been handed, unfolding it as if it were the most precious thing in the world. “Here it goes. Poe, I’ve known you for almost half my life. You were there for me when on one else was, you sought me out in this crazy city because you knew it was the first time I’d ever been away from home and you wanted me to feel at peace. You made that first year something I’ll never forget. You’ve brought so many amazing people into my life-“she paused, looking around at all of the guests lining the dance floor-taking her time to smile at each of them “-something I’ll be eternally grateful for. And not to take all the credit here, but I definitely helped with this situation here.”

She pointed at the newlyweds, smiling fondly at her favorite couple.

“Rey, my daisy, my badass queen, my Mario kart machine you swooped into my life exactly when I needed you and to this day you continue to do so. Thank you for all the life lessons, all the laughter, all the late-night phone calls and sleepover sessions. Thank you for the odd trips to Target and random dance parties at Sam’s Club. Thank you for letting me into your life, for sharing a small piece of your sunshine with me. Thank you for your love, I promise you’ll always have mine in return. I wish you two the best that life has to offer. Cheers!”

“Cheers!”

Rey hugged Rose tightly to her, her head resting on the barefoot woman’s head. “Thank you, my darling friend. There’s no one else I’d rather have standing beside me. Hopefully I’ll be able to return the favor one day.”

Rose blushed at Rey’s words, her cheeks flushing in hopeful embarrassment. “One day, he just needs to get his head out of his ass.”

“Hahaha, I think that day will come sooner rather than later.”

“Poe! Rey! It’s time to cut the cake,” Jessika announced, taking a sip of her spiked strawberry lemonade.

“Ah! Cake!” Rey exclaimed, clapping her hands in anticipation. The cake had been something that both Poe and Rey had been all to eager to decide on. They’d spent countless afternoons lying on the couch after cake testing’s, their stomach’s aching from all the different deserts they’d ingested. They had settled on a layered strawberry and vanilla cake with buttercream icing-the best of both worlds as Poe had put it.

They posed in front of the cake-Poe standing behind Rey as they both gripped the knife-as their photographer took some photos. “Got it.”

Rey smiled at the photographer before turning her attention back to the cake in front of them. With Poe’s hand wrapped around her own, they cut a slice from a strawberry layer working in tandem to get the piece down and onto a plate.

“Remember what they say, Poe!” Han yelled from the crowd. Rey could feel Poe laughing as his body shook against her back.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Poe responded, cutting the slide into more manageable pieces before handing one to Rey and picking one up for himself.

Rey moved slightly away from him, angling her body so that she was facing him and half of their guests.

Rey wiggled her eyebrows, flashing Poe a smirk as she brought the piece of cake in her hand up to his face. In tandem, they both opened their mouths and gently fed the other a bite of the cake. Rey chewed the piece of cake before surging up and pressing a chaste kiss to Poe’s closed mouth, their guests awing at the sweet sight.

“That was good,” Poe said, reaching behind him to grab another piece of the cake to eat. His tongue darting out of his mouth, licking the excess icing off his fingers.

Rey distractedly nodded in agreement, her gaze fixed on Poe’s fingers as he stuck them into his mouth. Her pupils were blown, her desire for her husband clear as day on her face.

Sensing the affect that he was having on her, Poe let out a breathy laugh before reaching forward with clean fingers and grabbing Rey’s face to pull her to him. Their hungry lips met in the middle, the taste of cake and icing mixing between them as their tongues dueled. They pulled apart too soon for their liking, all too aware of the guests that were watching them.

Poe turned towards their friends and family, shooting them all a sheepish smile. “What can I say? I like cake!”

His sheepish smile turned genuine when he turned back to face Rey. Her cheeks were flushed from their kiss, pieces of hair falling out of her once pristine updo from his roving fingers, her lipstick smeared at the corners of her mouth. Despite it all, Poe thought she’d never looked more beautiful. Not able to control his urges, he leaned forward once more, his hands gripping her wrists gently as he pressed a series of kisses all over her face. When he reached her lips, he whispered, “I love you, Mrs. Dameron. Don’t ever forget that” before kissing her firmly on the mouth.

“I love you too, Mr. Dameron.” She whispered back once they pulled apart, her eyes locking with his as she said the words they’d exchanged countless times. “Don’t ever forget that.”

“Yes ma’am.” He responded with a fake southern drawl, her eyes closing as he kissed her on the forehead one last time.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! If you feel so inclined please leave a kudos! Find me on tumblr at PoeandReyDameron


	3. Where It Takes Us No One Knows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A glimpse into everyday life on base as Rey comes to the realization that she's found a family with the Resistance and she wants Poe Dameron to be a part of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little baby compared to my last two but I hope you enjoy!

Rey paused in her steps, looking out to the flight deck where a batch of X-wings were pulling in after running some practice exercises. One. Two. Three. Four. She counted, as each X-wing in black squadron landed one after the other. She stood there for a moment more, her focus on the X-wing hovering near the back of the lineup as he waited for every member of his squadron to land before doing so himself. His starfighter landed with ease, the wheels of the craft kissing the ground as he started his post flight check.

She could see his form moving in the cockpit of Black One, his astromech BB-8 roving around in his port. She’d only met the pilot a handful of times in the past few weeks as they both moved around base working tirelessly to get their fleet in tip top shape. He’d been kind each time-though they’d only really said a few words in passing. It was more common to see Rey interacting with BB-8, the little droid taking a liking to the newly found Jedi. He followed her around base as she worked on the various ships and practiced with her saber-something that had been occurring with increasing frequency since Master Luke deemed her ready the previous month.

Sparing one last glance at the ace pilot and her favorite droid, she continued on her trek to what she had deemed the spare parts center. _I’ve really got to find that carbonator piece that was in there earlier in the week,_ she thought slipping around mechanics and pilots and into the room that was tucked off the main hanger.

Rose was already at her work station, her small form hunched over the table that was currently littered with odds and ends.

“I thought you said you were actually going to eat lunch today,” Rey asked her friend, raising an eyebrow at the shorter woman.

“I know, I know. I just had an idea and you know how I can get.” Rose said, placing the tools she’d been working with down on the bench. “And besides, are we really going to call what they serve in the mess edible food?”

Rey laughed at the truth in her friend’s words. Their current base planet was lacking a variety of things: greenery, warmth, and food variety to name a few. As a child from a desert planet, Rey was accustomed to the way they lived on base, but even she could only handle the cold, sterile planet of Garnib for so long. The icy glacier that their base was located on was surrounded by water, making it difficult for transporting “unnecessary” items- _which apparently included spices and foods that weren’t fish,_ Rey thought. In her months with the Resistance, her love of food had grown exponentially as she tried all the diverse dishes from each star system.

“Here, I brought you a nutrition bar.”

Rose accepted the wrapped bar Rey extended to her, not realizing how hungry she was until she’d unwrapped it and started eating it with a frensy.

“Slow down! There’s plenty more where that came from,” Rey said, pulling out three more bars and setting them on the bench in front of Rose.

At her own work bench, Rey began picking through a pile of spare parts she’d been meaning too look at-hopefully finding the piece for the carborator in the process.

“Oh, I meant to tell you.” Rose said, unwrapping another nutrition bar-eating this one slower than the first.

“Huh,” Rey responded, continuing to shift through the pile in front of her, only half listening as Rose spoke to her.

“Poe radioed in that there was a malfunction with his X-wing, something about his weapons system not working properly. He asked if you would take a look, said he thought you’d enjoy the challenge.”

“Me?” Rey asked, finally looking up at her friend, a look of disbelief on her face. Why would the hotshot pilot want her help? He thought about her? Sure, they were friendly-and whenever she was around him she couldn’t help but smile- but she didn’t think he thought about her when they were apart-not like how she thought about him at least.

“Asked for you by name, said you were the best, went off on a whole tangent about that time you fixed the droids. Oh, get that surprised look off your face, you know you’re one of the best engineers we have. And you know how Poe get’s when it comes to Black One. Treats the thing like it’s his baby. Though I can’t really blame him, she’s a beauty.”

Rey nodded in agreement, her mind picturing the sleek black x-wing and the lone orange stiped that ran along its sides-the color matching the paneling on BB-8 perfectly, something that Rey was positive had not been a coincidence. There were few things Poe loved more than his ship and BB-8, it seemed right that they share some physical similarities.

“Well I guess I better go see if I can fix it, wouldn’t want the best pilot in the resistance to be at an unfair disadvantage, now would we?”

Heading back towards the flight deck where she knew Poe’s starfighter to be, her thoughts went to the pilot himself. Had he really called her the best engineer in the Resistance? Rose had said he had, and there was no reason Rose would make that up. She could feel her face warming, biting her lip as she thought about the pilot and the compliment he had given her.  

“What’s got you all flushed?”

Jolting out of her thoughts, Rey paused in the middle of the hallway, General Solo stopping in the hall next to her. His tall form towered over Rey, forcing her to tilt her head up to look him in the eye.

“Nothing,” Rey managed to squeak out, her face turning a darker shade of red at the inquisition.

“Whatever you say, kid.” Han responded, raising an eyebrow at the young engineer. “Where you off to?”

“Something happened with Poe’s x-wing, he asked me to take a look.”

A knowing look sprouted on Han’s face at her words, it was common for Poe Dameron to get that response out of people. Being there as Poe grew up gave Han the opportunity to see the vast amount of similarities between the young pilot and himself. “Well tell him I said hi. Oh, do me a favor would you? Remind him about dinner tonight-Leia wants some semblance of normalcy-actually, I think you should come as well. Be there by 5 or Leia will have your head!”

Rey nodded at the older man in conformation, saying goodbye as they parted ways-Rey to the flight deck and Han to wherever he had originally been headed.

Poe was already working on Black One when she got there-BB-8 letting out a happy shrill before rolling quickly to Rey when he saw her.

“Hey Bee Bee. I’ve missed you too.” Rey responded to the droid, crouching down in front of him and patting him on his dome.

[Designation: Friend Rey are you here to help Designation: Master Poe with Black One: Fastest Ship in the Galaxy?] BB-8 chirped, his spherical body moving back and forth in excitement.

“I am, something about his weapons system,” Rey responded as the pair walked further into the hanger until Black One loomed over them.

Poe was elbows deep in the belly of his starfighter, grease coating large portions of his tanned skin. There was a smudge on his cheek-most likely from trying to push his dark curls out of his eyes-something that Rey found too endearing for her own good.

“Rey! Perfect timing! Will you hand me that lug wrench?” Poe asked when he noticed her presence, tilting his head in the direction of his tool box. Reaching into the box she pulled out the appropriate tool, handing it to him before shifting closer to see what he was doing.

“You could bypass that by using a selenium cable instead. It’d be ten times more durable.” Rey offered, her mind running through the steps he’d need to take.

“Huh, you’re right.” Poe said, pausing briefly to think about what Rey had said. “That’s a great idea, then I wouldn’t have to keep coming back in here and replacing this piece. Thanks.”

“Anytime, now what was this about your weapons system?”

“Oh, right. It got jammed when I was running a practice maneuver earlier today, I think the ice may have frozen the circuits and caused them to break.” Poe said, gazing up at Rey from his crouch-partially hidden from view by Black One’s hull.

His dark hair had flopped back into his eyes, the curly strands sticking to his forehead with sweat. Rey felt an overwhelming urge to reach forward and brush them away, her fingers twitching at her side. Poe was in his element here, surrounded by starfighters and various other transport ships, BB-8 not far away, a bright smile on his face; Rey thought he’d never looked more beautiful than he did in that moment. Their eyes were locked together, his stormy brown ones gazing deeply into her own. Rey felt as if Poe was looking into her soul when he gazed at her, she secretly hoped he liked what he saw.

[Designation: Friend Rey would you like BB-8 to help?] the droid asked when the pair of sentients paused in their conversation.

Pulling herself out of Poe’s chocolate orbs, Rey turned towards the orange BB unit before saying, “Of course! You’re the best assistant!”

BB-8 chirped happily and rolled towards the guns that had been causing problems. Rey followed the droid, unaware of Poe’s intense gaze on her retreating form.

Shaking his head, Poe pulled himself out of the moment, slowing turning away from the Jedi Padawan-his eyes following her until she disappeared from view. He sighed to himself, his mind racing with thoughts. He knew he liked her, he knew he wanted to spend more time with her-that’s why he’d specifically requested her help, though he did think she was the best engineer in the Resistance-and he knew he needed to be more proactive and do something about the way he was feeling.

Despite only having a handful of conversations, Poe had grown to appreciate the Jedi, being around her always made Poe feel at peace. She made him forget about the problems that were always on the horizon, her constant presence inspiring Poe in his everyday life. If this girl could face all the hardships that had happened in her short life and come out smiling, then Poe could handle the stress that came with command, he could brave the battle and focus on the good they were trying to bring to the galaxy.

They flittered about the ship for most of the afternoon, chatting briefly here and there about nonsense and enjoying the others presence. When they had finally finished working on Black One the pair stood back, a full unobstructed view of the ship before them.

“She’s a beauty,” Rey said, her eyes moving over the length of the ship appreciatively. She’d always dreamed about getting to pilot an X-wing-something that she didn’t think would even be a possibility until recently.

“Thank you for helping me with her. I would have been here all night without your help.” Poe answered, his arms crossed over his flight suit clad chest. The orange of the suite was covered in grease stains, the bright color contrasting nicely with Poe’s olive skin.

“It was no problem, I had fun. Not to be partial, but besides the Falcon, Black One is my favorite ship,” Rey said, a blush crawling up her neck as she thought about what she’d just said-and to who she’d said it to.

Poe laughed, a smiling forming on his face. “You should fly her one day. There’s nothing quite like it.”

“Really?!” Rey asked quickly, embarrassment at her earlier comment fading away.

“Ya, I’d say you could take her out now, but I’ve got to get to this dinner thing with Leia and Han. I wanna be here for your first time.” Poe said, running a hand across the back of his neck in embarrassment. 

Rey smiled fondly at him before saying, “That’s okay. I ran into Han on the way here and he wanted me to remind you about dinner. He invited me to tag along.”

“He did?” Poe asked, his voice raising in excitement.

Rey smiled at the flush that was rising on Poe’s face-the man himself all too aware that he sounded like an overeager child.

“Yes. I didn’t know this was something that you guys did. Eat dinner.” Rey said, her eyebrows crinkling together before she added. “Together! Eat dinner together!”

Poe laughed, “it was always a thing growing up. Whenever the Solos and/or Luke-were in the area my family always made it a priority to eat a meal together. My mom always said it was to remind them all of the good times and how no matter what they’d always be there for one another.”

“I like that,” Rey whispered quietly. One day she hoped to have a family like that, content to sit and eat a meal with those they loved, sharing moments from their day, and relaxing together. Slowly but surely, Rey could see her family being built before her. The Resistance had brought so many people into her life, people she grew fonder of as the days passed. Han. Luke. Leia. Chewie. Finn. Rose. As she looked up at the man standing beside her, she found his gaze already fixed on hers-his warm brown eyes inviting Rey to get lost in them-his body partially facing hers. As they stood there, Rey thought about her list: Han, Luke, Leia, Chewie, Finn, Rose…and Poe she thought firmly, a bright smile forming on her face as she gazed up at the ace pilot.

Without hesitation, Poe returned her smile with one of his own, untucking one of his arms and reaching forward to clasp his grease stained hand in one of Rey’s, their fingers locking together gently. They stood side by side in the hanger, fingers holding tightly together as they both thought of the future and their desire to have the other by their side through it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on tumblr at PoeandReyDameron


	4. Bump in the...Day??

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by a post I saw on Tumblr by nightofthelivingdeadpoetssociety
> 
> Poe and Rey meet on the bus when things go bump in the day.

 

Rey could hear the heavy sound of the bus approaching as she neared the bus stop. Glancing up from the book in her hand she saw as the university bus took a corner a little too sharply, the wheels running over a portion of the sidewalk. She picked up her pace, jogging towards the little bus depot on the other side of the street. It was early on a Friday morning, Rey had a 9:05 Mythology class that she was running a touch late for-making her instantly regret the second cup of coffee she had nursed that morning before leaving her apartment. She sighed in relief when she made it to the stop, the bus slowing down sharply as it pulled up in front of where she stood. She waited for the bus driver to give her the all clear before hopping on; the shuttle was surprisingly full for so early in the morning, most of the seats being occupied by students in various stages of waking up.

Deciding that she’d rather stand than squish herself between two burly looking men, Rey positioned herself by a handrail, gripping it tightly to keep from falling over. A majority of the ride went in uneventful silence-the only noise being the rumble of the engine and a few girls chatting quietly in the back. Rey leaned against the railing, her head lolling to the side as her eyes closed. She had a busy day ahead of her, something that she was not particularly looking forward to. Rey always found Friday’s to be the worst day of the week, she had her engineering lab today in addition to a few other classes spread throughout the day, and all she wanted to do was crawl back into bed and take a nap-something that she hadn’t been able to do in what felt like an eternity.

When she opened her eyes a few moments later, the bus was pulling up to a stop forcing Rey’s grip on the railing to tighten for fear of falling over. After a few moments of people shuffling about, almost half of the passengers got off, freeing up plenty of seats for Rey to sit comfortably for the remainder of the ride.

As she settled into an end seat, she watched as the people waiting at the stop got on: an overexcited yoga-mom looking girl, a freakishly tall giant of a man, a few people dressed oddly in what appeared to be medieval looking garb-full metal helmet and all, and a man in a well-dressed suit-who Rey decided had the best hair she’d ever seen on a man, the shaggy nature contrasting violently with his outfit.

As the bus took off again, Rey loosely fiddled with the clasp on her bag, paying no mind to the movements of the bus or the people around her. As they neared Rey’s stop, she reached up and pulled on the bell, before standing up from her seat. She loosely held onto the handrail, digging into her pocket to find her phone, so she could ask Finn to save her a seat.

In what could only be described as a freak accident, the bus suddenly jerked to a stop propelling Rey forward across the length of the bus. She could see the ground getting closer, her body preparing for impact-and the embarrassment that was sure to follow. But before she could make contact with the ground, a pair of muscular arms wrapped around her waist, hoisting her up from her half fall-keeping her from making out with the floor of the dirty bus.

“Wow, I think you just fell for me,” the man who caught her said without thinking, his arms still wrapped around her waist.

Without warning, the entirety of the bus erupted in applause and laughter at the situation, the other passengers watching the pair with interested eyes as the bus pulled to a full stop. Finally taking the time to look up at her savior, Rey’s eyes bugged out at the well-dressed man before her-the one with the amazing hair. Heat erupted on her face when she realized that he was the man she’d been admiring as he’d gotten on the bus. Now that she could fully looked at him, Rey took the time to appreciate him in his entirety. His dark brown hair hung in curls around his ears-Rey felt the urge to reach forward and pull on one to see if it would spring back into place-and as he smiled at her, Rey noticed a small gap between his front two teeth, the imperfection making him all the more endearing. As her hazel eyes ran over his face, she became all too aware of his hands still on her body-the warmth from where he touched her spreading across her back. Taking one last moment to compose herself she took a step back, the man’s hands falling from her waist as the distance between them grew. For a split second Rey thought she saw a flash of disappointment in his eyes-a look that was quickly covered up when he said, “I think this is your stop.”

“Thank you,” she said quietly, her eyes still locked with his as she righted her clothing. They were indeed at her stop, the bus driver waiting patiently for her to get off-probably for fear of Rey reporting the incident to the company.

“Anytime,” he said, a soft smile flashing on his face before he reached down and picked up the phone that had flown out of Rey’s hand when she’d fallen into him. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.” Rey said again, a bubble of embarrassment filling her stomach from the mans constant gaze. _Why can’t I say something other than thank you? Come on, Rey. You’ve talked to guys before! What makes this one any different?_

She gave him one last glance before turning away sharply and heading towards the front of the bus-the driver shooting her a sheepish look as she got off at the stop. She stepped down onto the sidewalk, crossing in front of the bus quickly so she was on the other side of the street. Glancing down at her watch briefly she quickened her pace, not wanting to be too terribly late to her first class of the day.

Just as she was nearing the entrance to the building her lecture was in, she heard a voice behind her shouting for her to slow down. Doing so without thought, she turned around and found her rescuer from the bus jogging over to her. Curious as to what he could possibly want-and a trace of embarrassment still lingering in the pit of her stomach-she walked a few paces towards him.

“Hey,” he said when he reached her, stuffing his hands into his jeans pocket.

“Hey yourself,” she responded, pushing a fallen hair out of her face.

They stood in silence for a moment, each taking the time to fully look at the person across from them. Rey took the opportunity to rake her eyes across his body, humming in appreciation at what she saw before forcing herself to focus on his face. He was smiling at her again, dimples and laugh lines that appearing on his face, the sight causing Rey to melt slightly.

“I’m Poe,” he finally said, extending a hand towards Rey. “Poe Dameron. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Rey Niima, it’s nice to meet you as well.” She said, hesitating slightly before extending her own hand and putting it in his. Poe’s palm was warm, his long fingers wrapping around the back of her hand, squeezing gently in greeting.

“I’m sorry if I embarrassed you by what I said back there.” He said suddenly, gesturing with his free hand to the direction they’d both come in.

“It’s okay, I’ve been in worse situations.” She said, all too aware that he was still gripping her hand in his calloused one. Rey realized that she didn’t mind the way if felt-she was actually starting to enjoy it-before he came to the same realization she had and pulled his hand away from hers.

“Really?” he asked, genuine interest in his voice. He stuffed his hand back in his pocket, the other reaching up to grip the strap of his messenger bag.

“I’m pretty prone to accidents,” she said simply, copying his stance. “My friend Finn says I’m an accident waiting to happen.”

“Finn? You wouldn’t happen to be talking about Finn Trooper, now would you?” He asked, his eyes lighting up at the mention of Finn.

“Ya, I am,” she said, her brows furrowing together slightly. “How do you know him?”

“He just joined my intermural baseball team; he’s a cool dude,” Poe responded, happy about the fact that they both knew someone.

“Oh right, he was telling me about that. He’s not very good at it, he only joined because this girl he likes asked him too.” Rey said, pausing before adding. “Gosh that sounds horrible, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that.”

“It’s alright,” Poe laughed, “We’ve all done something like that for a girl.”

As he looked at her, Rey could imagine Poe as the type of guy that was constantly doing stupid stuff in the name of impressing a crush-his words and actions since they met fortifying the idea in Rey’s head.

“Well, I should let you get to class. I’ve held you up enough as is,” Poe said, smiling gently at her.

“Ya,” Rey said, reverting back to her earlier inability to speak to the beautiful man. His smile made her melt a little, the combination of that and essentially every other part of his face working overtime to make her feel like a fool.

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts, “Thank you again…. for saving me. Maybe we’ll see each other again.”

“Anytime, Ms. Niima. I look forward to our next meeting,” he said, a cheeky smile causing Rey’s face to flush for what felt like the hundredth time today.

Only able to nod in response, she turned away from the handsome man and quickly walked up to the buildings entrance. As she pulled the door open, she spared one last glance over her shoulder at the man who’d caught her earlier-her hazel eyes making direct contact with Poe’s chocolate ones. He hadn’t moved from where she’d left him, his hands still clutching his bag as his gaze followed her moving form. Embarrassed by his piercing gaze, she shot him a little wave before walking into the building-cursing to herself about the stupid wave she’d directed at him-the door closing behind her, separating the pair fully.

Finally being away from Poe’s piercing gaze, Rey breathed a sigh of relief-it’d been a hot minute since a man had given her that much attention-her face finally returning to its normal coloring as she made her way into her classroom. Rey quickly took the seat that Finn had saved her, ignoring her friend when he shot her a curious look. “Later,” she whispered quickly, setting her bag down and pulling out her laptop to begin taking notes.

“I’ll hold you too that,” Finn said, turning back to the professor.

***

**

Shrugging his jacket off his shoulder and draping it over the back of the couch, Poe stretched his arms over his head, happy that the end of the day was finally here. Poe had known this morning that his day would be a hectic one, but nothing could have prepared him for how his day turned out. For a majority of the day, Poe had struggled with the idea of Rey Niima. He thought of the moment that had thrown them together-quite literally-and the following ten minutes they’d spent together. Poe tried to ignore the fact that he was enamored by a woman he had just met, something that was wholly outside of how Poe normally was. It had been a long time since Poe had thought this way about a girl-or anyone for that matter. He’d been too busy with school and work in the past year to do much more flirt casually-none of which ever went any farther than that.

Poe had caught himself drifting numerous times in class this morning, his thoughts continually going back to Rey. He’d tried to pay attention to the lecturer, though at the end of class his notebook was lacking. The same had happened in his second class of the day, the poly-sci lecture doing little to interest Poe. He was auditing the class because his boss had wanted him to brush up on his politics-something that Poe hadn’t been too keen on doing when Leia originally propositioned it to him.

Digging through his fridge for something to eat, Poe said to his corgi BB-8, “Buddy, what do you say we go on a walk? Grab something to eat at that Italian place down the street?”

Not caring that he must look odd talking to his small dog as if he could respond, Poe scratched the puppy on the head before going to his room to change quickly. He sat on the edge of his bed, bent over to tie up the laces on his boots. From his perch, he heard a ping from where he phone was sitting on his nightstand. Finishing the knot, he reached for his cell phone; on the lock screen there was a Facebook notification. _Rey Niima has sent you a friend request_. His heart jumped in his throat, his hands fumbling to open the Facebook app. Without thinking he accepted the request-not caring that he may seem overly eager at the prospect-and pulled up Rey’s profile page. He hesitated only briefly before sending her a direct message in greeting.

Almost immediately Rey responded, “Did you really just use a gif of a dog trying to catch a treat as an introduction?”

“Maybe,” he texted back quickly, sending another gif of a dog.

“Well what if I don’t like dogs?”

“Then I don’t think this will work out,” Poe sent, attaching a picture of a sleeping BB-8.

“Awww. We’ll you’re in luck. I happen to love dogs. Who’s that cute little fella?”

“I’m glad we dodged that bullet! My dog BB-8.”

“He’s adorable, how old is he?” She sent back as Poe grabbed BB-8’s leash, the small corgi bouncing excitedly near the door-happy at the idea of going outside.

Poe laughed gently, clicking the leash into place and grabbing his keys out of the dish by the door. The pair made their way down the stairs, pausing briefly at the bottom so Poe could message Rey back.

“He’s 12 weeks. We’re headed out right now for a walk and some dinner. You interested in joining us?”

Poe sent the text quickly before he could think too much about it, slipping it into his pocket as he and BB-8 crossed the street. After what felt like an eternity but was only a few minutes his cell phone chimed again, a message from Rey on the lock screen.

“Meet me at Liberty Park in 15 minutes?”

Poe smiled to himself before shooting her a conformation text and heading in the direct of the park. “We’re gonna have some company, BB. I hope that’s okay with you.”

The dog paid no mind to Poe’s rambling, content to scurry along the sidewalk next to his owner, his small head moving back and forth quickly as he took in the new sights and smells. When the pair reached the park 15 minutes later Rey was already there. She had her back turned to them as she gazed up at the trees hanging overhead-the leaves only just beginning to turn.

“Hey,” Poe said when he walked up behind her, clunking his feet louder than usual so she knew he was approaching.

She turned around to face him, a smile forming on her face when she saw him and BB-8. “Hey yourself. So you must be BB-8.”

**

She crouched down by his feet, reaching out to gently scratch BB on the head. The small corgi turned his head towards Rey’s hand, licking the inside of her palm before moving closer to her and sitting down in front of her. She laughed gently at the small dog in front of her, her hand continuing to run through his soft fur. Dogs had been a new addition to Rey’s life since she’d begun college. Growing up she’d never had a pet, her foster father Ben Kenobi being severely allergic to most animals.

“He likes you,” Poe said from where he stood above them. Rey looked up at the man, taking a moment to appreciate his form. He’d changed clothes since they’d met this morning- _was that only this morning_ , Rey thought in disbelief-gone was the form fitting grey suite and in it’s place a pair of dark wash jeans and a leather jacket.

“Well I like him too,” Rey said, standing up to her full height and looking at Poe.

“Shall we?” He said, offering his arm for Rey to take.

“We shall.” Rey looped her arm in the crook of Poe’s, settling beside him as they journeyed through the park.

They strolled around the park and the neighboring area for over an hour, acquainting themselves with one another and talking about anything under the sun. Rey talked fondly of her childhood-going into detail on her adoptive father-and her friends-particularly Finn and a girl named Jessika who she’d known since she was a kid. She was just finishing a story about a robot she had tried to make as a teenager when they arrived at the Italian place Poe had suggested when Rey’s stomach had growled loudly mid walk.

“And that was when I figured out the importance of always knowing where the fire extinguisher is.”

Poe laughed at her story, smiling fondly at her as held the door open for her. The host was quick to seat them in the outside patio, only briefly looking at BB-8 before doing so.

Poe pulled Rey’s seat out for her, smiling when she thanked him before taking his own seat across the table from her. BB-8 tucked himself in underneath Poe’s chair, the corgi resting his head lightly on his front paws.

They made small chitchat as they perused the menu-both agreeing that they wanted pizza-before ordering a pie to split.

“So… you’ve listened to me yap on and on all night, but you haven’t really told me much about yourself,” Rey said once the waiter walked away from them.

“Well, what do you want to know?” Poe asked over the edge of his water.

“Everything,” Rey whispered, an intense look on her face.

With her request, Poe started the tale of his life, telling Rey about growing up in Guatemala and moving to the United States when he was 8, his love of piloting, all the places he’d been stationed-his favorite deployment being London the previous year, and how his boss wanted him to brush up on his political skills.

“She hasn’t been very vocal about it, but she’s prepping me for command,” Poe said gently, his tone conveying the importance of what was happening without being cocky or self-entitled.

“Wow, that’s huge. Congratulations! That must be very exciting,” Rey said, thinking back to all the stories Ben Kenobi had told her about his time in the Royal Air Force.

“Thank you,” Poe said fondly, as he gazed softly at the woman in front of him. Her hair hung loose around her face, the strands in the front barely brushing her collarbone. Poe had caught himself admiring her numerous times over the past few hours, finding it harder and harder too look away each time. “She’s a fantastic general, one of the best we’ve ever had. I’m lucky to have her in my life.”

The food arrived shortly after, their conversation halting briefly as they both inhaled the pepperoni and bacon pizza. Over the course of their meal, both Poe and Rey were guilty of breaking off pieces to give to BB-8, the corgi moving so that he was sitting on the side of the table between the two. When the pizza was finished, Poe quickly paid for the bill, giving Rey no room to resist as he did so.

“Okay, well I’m paying next time,” Rey conceded, the ease in which she spoke causing Poe to choke on the water he’d been drinking.

“Are you alright,” Rey asked, getting up and going around the table to smack Poe on the back.

Poe coughed into his sleeve as Rey’s hand went from firmly pushing on his upper back to rubbing slow circles into his jacket clad back. He let out a rugged breath, taking another sip of his water before reassuring her, “I’m alright. Just went down the wrong pipe.”

Rey gave him a questioning looking before nodding, her hand sliding down Poe’s arm as he stood up from his seat. Without thinking she gripped his hand in her own, their fingers locking together loosely.

Poe smiled down at their joined hands, his face warming as he said, “So you want there to be a next time?”

“Of course, I do,” Rey said without hesitation, her head tilting down to try and capture his eyes with her own. “I like you, Poe. Probably more than I should after only knowing you for a day.”

Her face flushed at the truth to her words; she’d never spoken so candidly to a man before and definitely not about something so personal.

“Well I guess we’re in luck, because I like you too, Rey.” Poe squeeze her hand gently in his, a bright smile lighting up his face. Rey returned the smile before grabbing BB-8’s leash from Poe’s hand and pulling the two boys towards the exit. They thanked the waitstaff as they left, Poe handing their waiter a wad of cash when they passed him.

“Come on, we’ve got a conversation to finish,” Rey said, tugging more firmly on Poe’s hand. BB-8 trotted in front of them, paying no mind to the two-people smiling stupidly behind him. His short tail wiggled behind him causing Poe and Rey to laugh at the silly corgi.

When they reached her building, Rey pulled them gently to a stop in front of the door. She pulled her keys out of her purse, letting them hang from her fingers as she turned towards Poe.

“Thank you for tonight,” she said, smiling at the man in front of him. “I had a great time.”

“Me too,” Poe responded. Without thinking, he slowly leaned forward, his hand moving to grip Rey’s arm more firmly as he pressed his lips to her cheek. “Thank you for letting me walk you home.”

“Anytime, besides, where would I be without the man who saved me from mortal embarrassment?”

They laughed together at Rey’s joke, both thanking their lucky stars that fate had worked the way it did.

“Goodnight Rey,” Poe whispered, pressing a final kiss to Rey’s cheek.

“Goodnight Poe,” Rey whispered back, slowly pulling her arm free from Poe’s gentle grasp. She made her way up to the front door, glancing behind her to see that Poe had yet to move from his spot. Unlocking the door and slipping inside, she was just about to close it when Poe yelled, “wait!”

The doorknob in one hand, Rey turned towards Poe, waiting as he climbed the steps two at a time. “This isn’t some movie,” he said quickly. “where we talk about seeing each other at a later date but don’t exchange any information and still miraculously get the time and place of our next meeting correct.”

A bubble of laughter erupted from Rey’s throat at his words, the sincerity and tone of his voice making the moment all the funnier. “You’re right,” Rey said, stepping back outside and reaching for Poe’s hand. Pulling a pen from her purse, Rey made quick work of writing her name and number on the back of his hand, the blue ink contrasting nicely with his tanned skin. “There, problem averted.”

Poe looked down at the number she’d written, admiring the way the curve of her handwriting looked on his skin.

“Sorry about that. I guess I could have just put it into your phone. But truth be told, I’ve always wanted to do that,” Rey said shrugging as she admitted the endearing fact about her.

“It’s alright, I like it.” Poe said, smiling up at Rey.

After semi-awkwardly saying goodbye to one another again, Rey went into her apartment. She made quick work of changing into her pajamas and getting comfortable on her bed, pulling her laptop out to watch some Netflix before she called it a night.

Her phone pinged from where she’d set it on her night stand. An unknown number had texted her, the message flashing briefly before her screen went black. Thumbing the phone open, she smiled at the text that Poe had sent her.

“Any chance you want to make that next time tomorrow? Say 10ish at the intermural baseball fields in the park? BB-8 will be there.”

A second text came quickly after the first, “This is Poe, by the way.”

“I’d love to,” she texted back quickly, a smile erupting on her face as she squealed in excitement. She could feel butterflies in her stomach, the idea of seeing Poe again making her happier than she’d been in a long time. That night, she fell asleep with a smile on her face, the image of Poe’s own carefree smile carved into her thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! Find me on tumblr at PoeandReyDameron


End file.
